On March 7th, the corporation Juárez y Maldonado S.L. fired 22 employees, for demanding their rights through trade union action
My name is Mohammed Assehlin.
I come from Morocco
I arrived in Spain illegally in 2005
I spent almost four years without papers until I got my official documentation in 2009.
Only then I could get a permit for my familiy to come to Spain.
We are a family of six – my wife, four children and me.
I used to live in the outskirts of El Ejido...
to work in the greenhouses.
But my life changed in 2013
when my wife and I began to work for this company (Juárez y Maldonado S.L.) in San Isidro.
Each year they give us new contracts...
... in order to keep down the length of service
They only payed us 32 Euros for an eigth-hour shift.
Way below the standard wage defined in the collective agreement.
This situation went on until earlier this year
When we got fed up accepting the low wages and the regularly delayed payments.
For two months they let you without payment, you know?
In 2016 the 22 workers of us got in contact with the SOC-SAT union to demand our rights.
As a consequence, we were able to arrange a negotiation with the company.
The company agreed to pay the standard wage...
... and that we would be paid by the fifth of the following month.
Yesterday, March 7th , the company fired all workers involved in the struggle.
At the same time they hired new people to do the job.
That's why we're here.
The standard wage is 5,84 Euros...
... But they just pay you 4 euros and they keep the difference.
As long as you keep working for 32 Euros a shift...
... fumigating without protective clothing or masks,
Only so you're useful to them
However, when you dare to stand up for your rights, they simply fire you.
That's what happened here.
We are all women and men who have family, children, responsibilities...
We have to pay bills.
Our children go to school and we can barely provide them a lunch.
At the end of the month, your boss doesn't pay you,
but your children still expect a lot from you.
This is what forces people into accepting things.
We have to overcome our fear.
It's not only about this company.
We should be allowed to demand our rights.
But when they are not granted,
I go somewhere else.
Workers in struggle!
Each day, eversince we were fired,
we come together at the gate of the ranch where we used to work.
It's enough! For a structural change in the plastic sea of Almeria and elsewhere!